History is built. Constructed. Earned. Won through long experience, trial and error, and above all, the unrelenting commitment to moving forward.

Our history isn’t a story about how we arrived where we are today. It’s the story of how we became who we are today. One that is both deeply personal, and intrinsically interconnected with the history of our country itself.

For more than a century, through peacetime and wars, booming markets, the Depression, recessions, advancements and disruptions, successes and losses, we’ve never stopped questioning. Challenging. Daring. Evolving and adapting in the face of change.

Today, the world is changing faster than any of us can anticipate, or predict. To prepare for the future, we’ll need to look to the lessons of the past, lessons we began learning with our founding over one hundred years ago: to be flexible, and resilient. To always look past the closed door to find the open one. To change what needs to be changed—and stay true to what should never change.

This comfort with ambiguity is the heart of design. Going back to the problem, to the question, to the blank page, over and over again. Beginning with an idea, and developing a vision.

We may be solving new questions, but we’re not starting from scratch. We’re starting from experience. We’re starting from a place of trust— in our capabilities, in our colleagues and in our clients. This is how we take the next step. This is how we write the next chapter. This is how we advance the world.

1932 - Alvin E. Harley and Harold Slaight Ellington merge their partnerships to become Harley and Ellington. With the end of prohibition in 1932, Harley and Ellington were now able to capitalize on Ellington’s prior brewery experience.

1936 - The firm’s design of the Stroh stock house was heralded as the latest in modern brewery design in the Brewer’s Journal.

1950’s - the firm went on to establish a reputation among local governments that made this type of work a significant part of the firm’s practice. Pictured here, the 2.6 million square foot building that Harley, Ellington and Day designed was actually an addition to the existing State Department Building.

1970 - Harley, Ellington Associates merges with Pierce, Wolf, Yee and Associates but the two firms did not immediately create a single entity until 1973, when the businesses formally changed into Harley Ellington Pierce Yee Associates.

2001: Edwin Fields retires, selling his ownership in Fields Devereaux. Peter Devereaux begins discussions with Dennis King, exploring the possibility of a potential merger with HarleyEllis. In 2006, Harley Ellis Devereaux was created, transforming a collection of local and regional offices into one of the largest design firms in the country.

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Our history gives us great depth, knowledge, and understanding, and positions us to have creative solutions better than those firms who don’t know their history.”